The Angels' Share

I am a long time fan of Ellen Crosy's Lucie Montgomery series, but this time she has outdone herself. This book has everything you could possibly imagine - a murder mystery, early American history, a lost treasure and plenty of family drama. When 95 year old Prescott Avery invites Lucie to have a drink of his special Madeira with him during a party in his mansion, she never could have imagined what would follow. Prescott tells her a tale of a special handwritten copy of the Declaration of Independence he recently acquired, and hints that it will lead to a lost treasure, but only with the addition of some 200 year old Madeira that Lucy's family was supposed to have.When Prescott is murdered that evening, the police believe it may have something to do with the fact that he was getting ready to sell his family newspapers against the wishes of his children, but Lucie thinks it could be more and , with the help of her fiance Quinn, is on the trail of the case. Once I started this book I could not put it down, and I think anyone who reads it will feel the same way. It's amazing!

This is the first of Ellen Crosby's mysteries that I have read, but I enjoyed it so much that I am now going to go back and start this series from the beginning. It's a perfect mixture of compelling mystery, interesting and intelligent characters, early American history, a lovely setting in the Virginia wine country and an exciting treasure hunt. This book has it all!

I'll certainly admit that Ellen Crosby's Lucie Montgomery series is one of my favorites. I look forward to each and every new installment in this Series. Ms. Crosby mixes U.S. History, wine making, and a very satisfying mystery into each novel. This one is one of the best! Lucie again stumbles into a murder and with the help of her family and friends manages to solve a murder that weaves in lore of the Masons, Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison... and yes, even her father and some very old, historic wine. Ms Crosby admits she takes some liberties with the Declaration (and don't worry, you wont' mind)... It's a fabulous read - one to be thoroughly savored!!

History, mystery and wine. What's not to love here? I love this character, Lucie Montgomery...so very well written and likable. This particular story deals with old secrets and lots of US History including Jamestown. This is the perfect read for the cozy reader but don't be fooled...this isn't your average cozy! Cannot wait for the next Lucie! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced readers copy for review.

Fun book with history, although rather lacking as a standard cozy mystery.

I picked this book because of the title: Angels' Share, the elegant way to describe the loss of alcohol during the aging process due to evaporation, only to immediately fall in love with the characters, the wine, the setting. As a standard whodunit book, it was lacking - it's entirely secondary to the other mysteries - tracking down a possibly long lost mystery dealing with the early days of the United States and a lost cache of Maderia hidden by an ancestor years ago that may or may not exist any more.

This was the 10th book in the series; the previous 9 have been added to my TBR pile. Highly recommended.

4 1/2 stars rounding up

Set in the wine country of Virginia,, this series combines a current mystery with historical ones. This one delves into missing documents, a Jeffersonian hand written Declaration of Independence and the authorship of Shakespearean plays. Fascinating and enthralling, I had to ding it a 1/2 star as the current mystery is not as well developed as in previous volumes. This is the 10th in the series and it functions gone as a standalone, but for true enjoyment, I would recommend adding the rest to your TBR.